These tall polychrome "chimney" censers are unique to the Palenque region of central Chiapas, and each is distinctly decorated with a rich ensemble of zoomorphic and plant symbols. Each censer has a rounded front, headed by a male face bearing an animal headdress. See what differences you can find among the five pictured in the large picture at left. The leftmost of these censers is detailed in the image at right, in which you can see elements of catfish, crocodile, turkey, and other animals upon the chimney. Many of these were made under the reign of Kan B'alam II, "Serpent Jaguar," in the late 7th century.
National Museum of Anthropology and History
In 692 king Serpent Jaguar dedicated three temples in Palenque to the sacred Cross/World Tree, the Sun, and the Foliated Cross. All three refer to a rare conjunction of the moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn that occurred in 690. This is a full replica of the inner wall of the Temple of the Foliated Cross, the shape of the great First Tree that stood at the center of the cosmos and linked the heavens and the earth. On this set of panels, as with the other two temples, the king appears at left in his youth and at right as a grown man, at both ages giving devotion to the sacred tree. At the top of the tree is the Principal Bird Deity, which often perches atop the First Tree. I am indebted here to Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube's concise description of these temples.
National Museum of Anthropology and History
These two life-sized stucco sculptures were found at the sarcophagus chamber of K'inich Hanab Pakal, who rose to the throne at the age of 12 and reigned Palenque from 615 to 683, one of the longest and most accomplished reigns in the ancient Maya world. The sarcophagus he was buried in attests to the grandeur of his reign, for it contained an extraordinary jade death mask, a trove of jade jewelry, and perhaps the most spectacular sarcophagus of Maya civilization. The stucco heads are of Pakal, at left, and of his mother, Lady Sak K'uk' or "White Quetzal Bird."
National Museum of Anthropology and History
The lid of the Pakal sarcophagus features a youthful version of the king as he "entered the road" into the jaws of the Underworld of the White Bones House, at the foot of the First Tree. The sides of the rectangular sarcophagus feature reliefs of ten royal ancestors in Pakal's lineage, each identified by a distinct animal and tree headdress. The king in the detail at right is Kan B'alam I, who ruled from 572 to 583. These images are from a full reproduction of the tomb at the National Museum of Anthropology.
National Museum of Anthropology and History
The state of Tabasco is toward the southernmost corner of the Gulf of Mexico, and it was an important region in ancient Mesoamerica as a midway between the great civilizations of central and south Mexico and the Maya zone to the east. Its ports were also active for seafaring routes between the central gulf coast and the Yucatan peninsula. Tabasco could be regarded as the westernmost cultural frontier of the Maya civilization, and it has yielded many terracotta sculptures, such as this especially embellished figure of a man (or deity?) dressed as a jaguar.
Regional Museum of Querétaro
Toniná lay near the center of Chiapas State. The figure in the center of the small stone disc at left appears to be a priest, holding a small bundle that resembles a hearthstone. The hieroglyphs circumscribing him present the date, using glyphs for the long-count, ritual, and solar calendars to correspond to a date in the year 550 AD. The sixth century was a period in the first century of Toniná's dynastic rule, for which there is relatively scant information on the exact names and reigning dates of its earliest rulers. The lord at right wears a large jaguar headdress.
National Museum of Anthropology and History, Regional Museum of Querétaro
While there is little on the exact provenience of this superbly crafted stone throne, its style is very similar to that of Palenque. Two seated nobles in an unusually round sculpture face each other, with a set of glyphs to the right of each figure. Their posture and headdresses are lively and dynamic, even for Maya sculpture. A bizarre creature resembling a monkey or the "Jester God" sits with crossed arms between the two nobles.
Amparo Museum